Ilyna can't help but chuckle at the last comment. "I could believe that," she says with a small grin. She glances down at Li as they near the rec room. "Remember to take it easy this time, Li," she repeats herself.
#RedrockAgency – November 12, 2020
Jason shifts in discomfort as the pair get all sincere on him, blue eyes briefly turning towards the counter as he offers a small, appreciative nod. He barely had a father himself. The idea of anyone relying on him to show them how to be a good person is a crippling thought, but he shoves those fears aside. "Yeah..." he offers softly, trying to wring the terror out of his voice. He gives another nod, this one firmer and
fortified by false confidence. "I mean-... taking care of a baby can't be that much different than working with Vicky, right?" he asks with a shrug, lopsided smirk returning to his face.
Halisi 's silver eyes linger on Jason, a faint, sympathetic frown on her face, his deflection having little effect on her, but instead of pushing she relents with a quiet snort and an exasperated shake of her head. "Jason... that's no way to speak of your employees, is it?" she says with a judgmental raise of her eyebrow.
Vasquez smiles a little at Ilyna's exchange with Li before leading the way back into the rec room. "Crisis averted." she announces, before glancing between Halisi and Jason, having caught the tail-end of their conversation. "...what about our employees?"
Ilyna offers a small, reassuring smile, and leads Li back to the table. "Good," she says softly. Vasquez' question makes her raise an eyebrow, as she didn't pay enough attention to overhear any rec room conversation on the way there.
Jason gives a defensive shrug, smirk ever-present. But as he opens his mouth to respond the trio return to the rec room, causing him to bite his tongue. "I-...." he draws out, shooting a suspicious glance Halisi's way, "...was just saying how-... great they all are." He gives a small shrug as he steps away from the counter, moving to grab another beer so he won't have to get back up in a minute. "And not at all a pain in the
ass." he adds with no small amount of sarcasm. He lifts a second beer and gives it a shake as he glances Cynthia's way, silently asking if she needs a new one.
Li gets back in her seat, thinking little of the fact that her glass has magically refilled itself as she (carefully) grabs it and takes a sip.
Vasquez raises an eyebrow. "Uh-huh..." she says, trying and failing to look disapproving as she makes a detour towards Jason, but a smile soon breaks out despite her best efforts. She moves up behind him, wrapping an arm around his waist and pressing a quick kiss against his neck as she leans over his shoulder to grab another soda for herself.
Cynthia catches Jason's look and nods, emptying the last of her bottle in another swig now that she doesn't have to weigh her desire for more beer against her will to get out of her seat.
Halisi just shakes her head at Jason's reply, although her attention soon turns to Ilyna and Li as they return, offering a smile. "All cleaned up?"
Ilyna takes her seat after Li has sat down, chuckling at Jason's dodging of the question. "Yeah," she says, glancing over at the pair by the fridge. "Linda's idea worked well." She goes for a sip of her wine.
Jason turns his head to the side, casting a brief glance over his shoulder as Vasquez joins him. He gives a small roll of his shoulders as he leans back affectionately against her. As he looks across the counter towards their friends at the table he's hit with the distinct reminder that this is what life is supposed to be. It's been so long since it didn't feel like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Since he felt
like he wasn't struggling just to keep his head above the water. He turns around so he's face-to-face with Vasquez before she can run off, that familiar, charming in a 'loyal puppy' kind of way lopsided smirk spread across his face as he studies her fondly, head tilting slightly. "You know you're incredible, right?" he asks softly, keeping his voice low.
Vasquez shifts back a little as Jason turns around, her free hand remaining at his side as she studies him in turn. His words catch her a bit off-guard, the hand wrapped around the soda stopping a little awkwardly between them. She lets out a quiet, slightly flustered snort, gaze falling away for a moment, but the stab of guilt and urge to deny that usually accompanies such words feel easier to push back right now, and instead a
warm, genuinely happy smile tugs at her lips as her brown eyes meet Jason's again. "You're not too bad yourself..." she mumbles, chewing on her cheek as she tries to reign in that relentlessly widening smile. She soon gives up, instead shifting her arms to Jason's shoulders, her bottle dangling behind his back as she leans in for a kiss, leaving him pressed back against the counter.
Halisi 's smile widens a little, nodding. She follows Ilyna's gaze towards Jason and Vasquez, letting out a quiet, amused hum and turning back towards the table, reaching for her glass and taking a sip of wine.
Cynthia glances towards the kitchen and rolls her eyes. She lets out a loud, exaggerated sigh. "Again with the PDA? Guys, you gotta rein it in. We've got kids here!" she says with a gesture towards Li before adding: "...and you're holding up my beer."
Li blinks and looks up from her eating, which has already resumed, confused as to why Cynthia was pointing at her.
Ilyna looks over at Li, but quietly leave the explaining to Cynthia and gets back to eating her food. It's starting to get cold and she has yet to try everything she's piled on the plate.
Jason's big dumb smirk only seems to grow as Vasquez responds. He brings his arms around her waist in turn while his smile meets her lips, the bottles in his left hand clanking gently together as he does. The comments at his back cause him to break the kiss with a snort, head tilting downward, forehead pressing against Vasquez'. "Uh huh..." he calls back dismissively as he leans back against the counter, far more focused on the
woman in front of him than the ribbing coming from Cynthia. He gives his back teeth a few pokes with his tongue, "Ya know... you're a terrible wingman, East Coast."
Vasquez lets out an exasperated snort of laughter after Cynthia's commentary causes their kiss to break, lingering close to Jason. She throws a brief middle finger in Cynthia's direction with her hands that are still behind Jason's neck, but there's a big grin on her face, eyes locked with those of her husband. She sways just a little from side to side in tune with the mellow Christmas music that flows from the base speakers, her
mind on the dance after the wedding. She doesn't dance. Except she did. She doesn't seem in a hurry to get back to the table.
Cynthia cackles at Jason's words and her former squadmate's rude gesture. "I've just got my priorities straight. Booze supply line? Priority one."
Li frowns a little at being ignored by Cynthia, but she soon returns her attention to her food, uninterested in the conversation.
Ilyna sighs at the impatience on display across the table, but she doesn't get involved. Jason and Vasquez' not letting her hinder them does cause a small smile, though. After eating a forkful or two of food and washing it down with a sip of wine, she looks to her side. "So, what do you think of the food, Li?" she asks.
Jason snickers to himself as Vasquez moves to the holiday music. He, too, seems in no rush to return to the table, merely swaying in place with her for a few moments. His gaze remains fixed to Vasquez, studying her with a gentle look. If for no other reason than to further defy Cynthia's protests, he leans in and presses one last kiss against his wife's lips. Just a quick, lingering peck before finally responding to the woman with
a sigh. "Alright, quit your whining." he calls back, arms slipping a bit further around Vasquez and giving her a squeeze before reluctantly letting go with a nod back towards the others. As much as he'd like to stay right here forever, they've got guests to entertain. Delicious food to eat. And presents to open. Besides, they've got the rest of their lives together.
Vasquez ' lingering grin can be felt as Jason kisses her, his comment to Cynthia drawing a snicker. She pulls back with a quiet sigh, joining him on his way back to the table - can't just abandon their guests, after all. And she's still pretty hungry after spending all day cooking.
Conversation and eating resumes as everyone returns to the table. There's a bit more of the latter than the former, perhaps - they have quite a lot to get through, after all. The cook herself makes an impressive dent in the food - then again she is eating for two now, isn't she? Li finishes early and sits in silent impatience, casting glances towards the tree but remaining polite enough not to bug Ilyna. Cynthia's favorite activity seems
to be teasing Vasquez when she has the chance, although it's taken in stride. A few prodding comments are aimed at Ilyna and Halisi as well, as if trying to subtly figure out what's going on there, but it's met with little success. The doctor and Vasquez chat for a while about the Christmas preparations. Spirits are high all around, fueled by the cheerful holiday atmosphere and collective relief that permeates the whole celebration (and,
Vasquez ' worries about pulling off the event have faded by the time dinner winds to a close, and as the post-holiday feast lethargy sets in she seems genuinely relaxed, her shoulder leaned just a little against Jason's as she gnaws a little lazily on the last bit of chicken on one of Halisi's skewers.
Halisi , for her part, has leaned back in her seat after clearing her plate, a fresh glass of wine in her hand and eyes closed as she moves her head from side to side in tune with the music.
Cynthia tries to muffle a burp with the back of her hand. Her posture has gotten gradually worse as dinner went on, to the point where she looks like she's going to slip out of her seat. She seems to have overestimated her capabilities, leaving a half-eaten plate in front of her.
Li looks like she's sitting on pins and needles, fidgeting in her seat and enduring this torturous wait to the best of her ability. Why are they all so slow?!
Ilyna has gone for round two in the meantime, which she regrets despite opting for a smaller portion this time. She leans back in her seat after clearing the plate, half empty second glass of wine in hand. She is relaxed and a bit weary from the heavy meal and is -- unlike her daughter -- in no hurry to leave the table. The teasing questions about her and Halisi has made caused some discomfort and guilt, but the
change of topic to holiday decorations has more than done away with it for the time being. Eventually, she will have to make that decision, but today is not that day.
Jason saved plenty of room for dinner by having a small breakfast, so he managed to put down more than his fair share of the food. Between lighthearted bickering with Cynthia and oh-so-educational dinnosaur and cartoon discussions with Li, Halisi and Ilyna have mostly been spared any direct prying from him, but he has certainly done his part in shooting smiles their way whenever the topic seems to be going in that direction in
that 'I'm on to you' sort of way. His chair has gradually shifted closer to Vasquez' throughout dinner and as things start to wind down, he's sitting back comfortably in his seat, trying to work through the last few bites on his plate without any urgency. He passed the threshold for 'full' long ago. Now he's just doing a victory lap.
Li has, of course, been happy to share her extensive knowledge, but now that that distraction has fallen away her attention is firmly on the pile of gifts under the tree. Her thoughts are probably clear to anyone that looks her way.
Halisi lets out a soft sigh as she opens her eyes, taking a sip from her glass. For a moment she studies Ilyna out of the corner of her eye, a thoughtful look on her face, but then she notices Li on the other side of the asari, a chuckle slipping out. "I think someone is growing tired of waiting for us..." she comments, an amused smile crossing her lips.
Vasquez gives up on her piece of bread with a quiet groan, putting it back on the plate. Halisi's words draw her attention to Li and a faint snort slips out. "She's been pretty patient... might be time for us to relocate. Doubt anyone can manage dessert right now anyway. What do you think, Ilyna?" she asks with a nod of her head in the direction of the couch and the armchairs, turning her gaze to the asari with a small smirk.
Cynthia seems to have regressed beyond speech, grunting in agreement and reluctantly scooting up in her seat.
Ilyna has returned those knowing looks with some annoyed stares, but sometimes a grin shows up as she does find some amusement in it. She does catch Halisi's glance, but pretends otherwise until she starts speaking in order to not hand Jason another easy prompt for such a look. She chuckles at first, but when Vasquez leaves the decision to her, a mischevious smile forms on her lips as she looks at Li. "Hmmm, I
Jason looks to Li when Halisi calls attention to her, a small snicker escaping him. Ilyna's question causes him to shoot a glance her way, sitting up a little straighter in his seat. "Actually..." he begins, deciding to join Ilyna's cruel game, "Back when I was a kid, we always opened our gifts on Christmas morning. I was kinda thinking maybe we should just pack it in for the night. Get to the presents tomorrow. What do you guys
Cynthia nods in agreement, making a 'He's got a point' gesture before shooting Li an apologetic look.
Li looks hopefully to Ilyna, only for that hope to turn to despair with her words. Jason's addition makes her attention snap over, eyes wide in shock. She immediately looks back to Ilyna, tugging at her arm. "Mom! You said we'd open the presents after eating!" she protests.
Vasquez ' smirk widens a little with Ilyna's teasing. Jason's addition causes her to let out a snort, covering her face with her palm as she tries to restrain her grin.
Halisi just raises an eyebrow, looking to Ilyna to see how she's going to respond to Li's dismayed protests.
Ilyna grins at Li's less than amused reaction, especially when Jason improves the joke. The smile weakens as Li grabs her arm, but it's far from gone. At some point this caliber of problems are going to become normal and likely have a stronger pull on her conscience, but now it's another reminder of the relief the Collectors defeat has brought them. "We're just joking, Li," she reassures. "Of course we're
Jason is only able to keep a straight face for so long before his big, dumb smile slips back out, shoulders bouncing as he tries to silence his snickering. "Yeah..." he admits as Ilyna gives in. He scoots his chair back, an unintended grunt escaping him as he rises to his feet, the food coma still settling in. "...We can't go and make a liar out of you, can we?" he asks Ilyna, as if that's the deciding factor. He gives Li's hair a
rustle as he passes behind her chair on his way towards the couch. "C'mon, small fry. We've got a whole lot of presents to get through."